Method and apparatus for controlling film deposition

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a method for depositing films on a substrate which may form part of an LED or other types of display. In one embodiment, the disclosure relates to an apparatus for depositing ink on a substrate. The apparatus includes a chamber for receiving ink; a discharge nozzle having an inlet port and an outlet port, the discharge nozzle receiving a quantity of ink from the chamber at the inlet port and dispensing the quantity of ink from the outlet port; and a dispenser for metering the quantity of ink from the chamber to the inlet port of the discharge nozzle; wherein the chamber receives ink in liquid form having a plurality of suspended particles and the quantity of ink is pulsatingly metered from the chamber to the discharge nozzle; and the discharge nozzle evaporates the carrier liquid and deposits the solid particles on the substrate.

1 . A system for depositing ink on a substrate, the system comprising:
 a chamber having a quantity of ink, the ink defined by a plurality of suspended ink particles in a carrier liquid;   a discharge nozzle proximal to the chamber for receiving a metered quantity of ink pulsatingly delivered from the chamber by a dispenser, the discharge nozzle evaporating the carrier liquid to form a substantially solid quantity of ink particles; and   a controller in communication with the discharge nozzle, the controller energizing the discharge nozzle to communicate the substantially solid quantity of ink particles from the discharge nozzle onto the substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller supplies a plurality of energy pulses to a heater associated with the discharge nozzle, each of the plurality of pulses having an amplitude and a frequency. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises a processor circuit programmed with instructions to:
 (a) determine one of the amount or the duration of activation required to discharge the quantity of ink particles to the substrate;   (b) energize the discharge nozzle consistent with the amount or duration determined in step (a); and   (c) repeat steps (a) and (b) to discharge additional quantities of ink particles onto the substrate.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises at least one processor circuit in communication with a memory for storing instructions. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller tasks the dispenser to provide the metered quantity of ink by providing pulsating energy to the dispenser, the pulsating energy adapted to exact a metered quantity of ink to the discharge nozzle. 
     
     
         6 . A system for depositing ink on a substrate, the system comprising:
 a chamber for receiving a quantity of ink, the ink having a plurality of suspended particles in a carrier liquid;   an ink dispenser for pulsatingly metering a quantity of ink delivered from the chamber;   a discharge nozzle for receiving a metered quantity of ink delivered from the chamber and evaporating the carrier liquid from the received quantity of ink to form a substantially solid quantity of particles;   a first controller in communication with the ink dispenser, the first controller pulsatingly energizing the dispenser to meter a quantity of ink delivered from the chamber; and   a second controller in communication with the discharge nozzle, the second controller energizing the discharge nozzle to communicate the metered quantity of particles from the discharge nozzle onto the substrate.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the metered quantity of ink is determined by the first controller as a function of the amount of heat energy provided to the ink and a duration of heating the ink. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the metered quantity of ink is determined as a function of a pulse of heat energy provided to the ink. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein pulsatingly energizing the ink dispenser further comprises heating the quantity of ink in discrete bursts, each burst defined by a pulse of energy. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the metered quantity of ink is determined by the first controller as a function of the amount and duration of energy provided to a piezoelectric element in communication with the chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the metered quantity of ink is determined as a function of a shape of a pulse energizing the piezoelectric element. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the metered quantity of ink is determined by the first controller as a function of the amount of energy provided to both a heater for heating the ink and to a piezoelectric element communicating with the chamber. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the first controller further comprises a processor circuit programmed with instructions to:
 (a) receive an input identifying a desired quantity of metered ink;   (b) determine at least one of amount or duration of energy required to dispense the desired quantity of ink;   (c) energize the ink dispenser consistent with the amount or duration determined in step (b); and   (d) repeat steps (a)-(c) to provide additional metered quantity of ink to the discharge nozzle.   
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein step (c) further comprises energizing at least one of a heater or a piezoelectric element in communication with the chamber. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second controller energizes the discharge nozzle by heating the metered quantity of ink in the discharge nozzle to substantially evaporate the carrier liquid. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second controller energizes a piezoelectric element associated with the discharge nozzle to discharge the substantially solid quantity of particles from the nozzle. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second controller energizes the discharge nozzle by heating the substantially solid quantity of particles to discharge said particles from the nozzle. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second controller further comprises a microprocessor circuit programmed with instructions to:
 (a) receive an input identifying an attribute of the ink;   (b) determine at least one of amount or duration of energy required to substantially evaporate the carrier liquid;   (c) energize the discharge nozzle consistent with the amount or duration determined in step (b); and   (d) repeat steps (a)-(c) to provide additional metered quantity of ink.   
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein step (b) further comprises determining at least one of amount or duration of energy required to evaporate the carrier liquid and discharge the substantially solid ink onto the substrate. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the second controller further comprises a microprocessor circuit programmed with instructions to:
 (a) receive an input identifying an attribute of the ink;   (b) determine at least one of amount or duration of energy required to substantially evaporate the carrier liquid;   (c) determine at least one of amount or duration of energy required to substantially deposit the metered ink onto the substrate;   (d) energize the discharge nozzle consistent with the amount or duration determined in step (b) to evaporate the carrier liquid and provide a substantially solid quantity of ink particles; and   (e) energize the discharge nozzle to discharge the substantially solid quantity of ink particles from the discharge nozzle onto the substrate.   
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the first controller communicates with the second controller. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 6 , further comprising an energy source. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the first controller and the second controller define an integrated control system. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the first controller and the second controller define one microprocessor circuit. 
     
     
         25 . A method for providing accurate deposition of ink on a substrate, the method comprising:
 providing a quantity of ink to a chamber, the ink having a plurality of suspended particles in a carrier liquid;   metering at least a portion of the ink delivered from the chamber to an inlet of a discharge nozzle by activating a dispenser;   receiving the metered ink at a discharge nozzle, the discharge nozzle having an inlet port and an outlet port;   transporting the metered ink from the inlet port to the outlet port of the discharge nozzle forming substantially solid particles; and   depositing the substantially solid particles from the outlet port of the discharge nozzle onto a substrate by energizing the discharge nozzle to pulsatingly eject at least a portion of the substantially solid particles onto the substrate.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the step of metering at least a portion of the ink further comprises providing a plurality of energy pulses to the dispenser, each energy pulse defined by at least one of an amplitude of the pulse, a duration of the pulse, or a frequency of the pulse. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the step of metering at least a portion of the ink further comprises providing a plurality of energy pulses to a piezoelectric element associated with the chamber, each energy pulse defined by at least one of amount or duration. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the inlet port and the outlet port are separated by a plurality of conduits. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the inlet port and the outlet port are separated by a porous material. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the inlet port and the outlet port are separated by a plurality of conduits having a tortuous path. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein the inlet port and the outlet port are substantially the same. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising simultaneously evaporating the carrier liquid and transporting the metered ink from the inlet port to the outlet port of the discharge nozzle.